Including video feed in message thread

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure involve a system comprising a computer-readable storage medium storing a program and method for including a video feed in a message thread. The program and method provide for determining that a message thread is being concurrently displayed on a first device associated with a first user and on a second device associated with a second user, the first user and the second user corresponding to contacts within a messaging application; and transmitting, in response to the determining, image data captured on the first device to the second device, for display within the message thread on the second device.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/247,172, filed Dec. 2, 2020, which application is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/730,340, filed on Dec. 30, 2019, nowissued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,880,496, which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to messaging systems, includingconfiguring messaging systems to include a video feed in a messagethread.

BACKGROUND

Messaging systems provide for the exchange of message content betweenusers. For example, a messaging system allows a user to exchange messagecontent with one or more other users in a message thread.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, themost significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to thefigure number in which that element is first introduced.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a networked environment inwhich the present disclosure may be deployed, in accordance with someexample embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of a messaging clientapplication, in accordance with some example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of a data structure asmaintained in a database, in accordance with some example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a message, in accordance withsome example embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for an access-limiting process, in accordance withsome example embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an interaction diagram illustrating a process for including avideo feed in a message thread, in accordance with some exampleembodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a message thread interface with a user-selectableoption to initiate a video feed, in accordance with some exampleembodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a message thread interface in which a live video feedhas been activated, in accordance with some example embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process for including a video feedin a message thread, in accordance with some example embodiments.

FIG. 10 is block diagram showing a software architecture within whichthe present disclosure may be implemented, in accordance with someexample embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine, in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions may be executed forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed, in accordance with some example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A messaging system typically allow users to exchange content items(e.g., messages, images and/or video) with one another in a messagethread. A messaging system may work in conjunction with a social networksystem which is configured to maintain the identity of users and theircorresponding relationships (e.g., friend relationships). In some cases,users (e.g., friends) may wish to have a more engaging experience withrespect to interacting within a message thread.

The disclosed embodiments provide for displaying a user-selectableelement to activate live video within a message thread. Theuser-selectable element may become available when both users are bothpresent in the message thread. For example, the users may be consideredpresent in the message thread when the message thread is active and/orforegrounded on their respective devices. User selection of the elementmay provide for activating a camera (e.g., a front-facing camera) oneach of the devices, for enabling two-way live video. The live video maybe presented as a background (e.g., wallpaper) of the message thread oneach device. In this manner, user engagement and/or interest withrespect to messaging may be improved.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system 100 forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network.The messaging system 100 includes multiple instances of a client device102, each of which hosts a number of applications including a messagingclient application 104. Each messaging client application 104 iscommunicatively coupled to other instances of the messaging clientapplication 104 and a messaging server system 108 via a network 106(e.g., the Internet).

A messaging client application 104 is able to communicate and exchangedata with another messaging client application 104 and with themessaging server system 108 via the network 106. The data exchangedbetween the messaging client application 104, and between a messagingclient application 104 and the messaging server system 108, includesfunctions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) as well as payload data(e.g., text, audio, video or other multimedia data).

The messaging server system 108 provides server-side functionality viathe network 106 to a particular messaging client application 104. Whilecertain functions of the messaging system 100 are described herein asbeing performed by either a messaging client application 104 or by themessaging server system 108, the location of certain functionalityeither within the messaging client application 104 or the messagingserver system 108 is a design choice. For example, it may be technicallypreferable to initially deploy certain technology and functionalitywithin the messaging server system 108, but to later migrate thistechnology and functionality to the messaging client application 104where a client device 102 has a sufficient processing capacity.

The messaging server system 108 supports various services and operationsthat are provided to the messaging client application 104. Suchoperations include transmitting data to, receiving data from, andprocessing data generated by the messaging client application 104. Thisdata may include, message content, client device information,geolocation information, media annotation and overlays, message contentpersistence conditions, social network information, and live eventinformation, as examples. Data exchanges within the messaging system 100are invoked and controlled through functions available via userinterfaces (UIs) of the messaging client application 104.

Turning now specifically to the messaging server system 108, anapplication programming interface (API) server 110 is coupled to, andprovides a programmatic interface to, an application server 112. Theapplication server 112 is communicatively coupled to a database server118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which is stored dataassociated with messages processed by the application server 112.

The API server 110 receives and transmits message data (e.g., commandsand message payloads) between the client device 102 and the applicationserver 112. Specifically, the API server 110 provides a set ofinterfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that can be called or queriedby the messaging client application 104 in order to invoke functionalityof the application server 112. The API server 110 exposes variousfunctions supported by the application server 112, including accountregistration, login functionality, the sending of messages, via theapplication server 112, from a particular messaging client application104 to another messaging client application 104, the sending of mediafiles (e.g., images or video) from a messaging client application 104 tothe messaging server application 114, and for possible access by anothermessaging client application 104, the setting of a collection of mediadata (e.g., Story), the retrieval of a list of friends of a user of aclient device 102, the retrieval of such collections, the retrieval ofmessages and content, the adding and deletion of friends to a socialgraph, the location of friends within a social graph, and opening anapplication event (e.g., relating to the messaging client application104).

The application server 112 hosts a number of applications andsubsystems, including a messaging server application 114, an imageprocessing system 116 and a social network system 122. The messagingserver application 114 implements a number of message processingtechnologies and functions, particularly related to the aggregation andother processing of content (e.g., textual and multimedia content)included in messages received from multiple instances of the messagingclient application 104. As will be described in further detail, the textand media content from multiple sources may be aggregated intocollections of content (e.g., called Stories or galleries). Thesecollections are then made available, by the messaging server application114, to the messaging client application 104. Other processor and memoryintensive processing of data may also be performed server-side by themessaging server application 114, in view of the hardware requirementsfor such processing.

The application server 112 also includes an image processing system 116that is dedicated to performing various image processing operations,typically with respect to images or video received within the payload ofa message at the messaging server application 114.

The social network system 122 supports various social networkingfunctions services, and makes these functions and services available tothe messaging server application 114. To this end, the social networksystem 122 maintains and accesses an entity graph 304 (as shown in FIG.3) within the database 120. Examples of functions and services supportedby the social network system 122 include the identification of otherusers of the messaging system 100 with which a particular user hasrelationships or is “following”, and also the identification of otherentities and interests of a particular user. Such other users may bereferred to as the user's friends. In some embodiments, the socialnetwork system 122 may access location information associated with eachof the user's friends to determine where they live or are currentlylocated geographically.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding themessaging system 100, according to example embodiments. Specifically,the messaging system 100 is shown to comprise the messaging clientapplication 104 and the application server 112, which in turn embody anumber of some subsystems, namely an ephemeral timer system 202, acollection management system 204 and an annotation system 206.

The ephemeral timer system 202 is responsible for enforcing thetemporary access to content permitted by the messaging clientapplication 104 and the messaging server application 114. To this end,the ephemeral timer system 202 incorporates a number of timers that,based on duration and display parameters associated with a message, orcollection of messages (e.g., a Story), selectively display and enableaccess to messages and associated content via the messaging clientapplication 104. Further details regarding the operation of theephemeral timer system 202 are provided below.

The collection management system 204 is responsible for managingcollections of media (e.g., collections of text, image video and audiodata). In some examples, a collection of content (e.g., messages,including images, video, text and audio) may be organized into an “eventgallery” or an “event Story.” Such a collection may be made availablefor a specified time period, such as the duration of an event to whichthe content relates. For example, content relating to a music concertmay be made available as a “Story” for the duration of that musicconcert. The collection management system 204 may also be responsiblefor publishing an icon that provides notification of the existence of aparticular collection to the user interface of the messaging clientapplication 104.

The collection management system 204 furthermore includes a curationinterface 208 that allows a collection manager to manage and curate aparticular collection of content. For example, the curation interface208 enables an event organizer to curate a collection of contentrelating to a specific event (e.g., delete inappropriate content orredundant messages). Additionally, the collection management system 204employs machine vision (or image recognition technology) and contentrules to automatically curate a content collection. In certainembodiments, compensation may be paid to a user for inclusion ofuser-generated content into a collection. In such cases, the curationinterface 208 operates to automatically make payments to such users forthe use of their content.

The annotation system 206 provides various functions that enable a userto annotate or otherwise modify or edit media content associated with amessage. For example, the annotation system 206 provides functionsrelated to the generation and publishing of media overlays for messagesprocessed by the messaging system 100. The annotation system 206operatively supplies a media overlay or supplementation (e.g., an imagefilter) to the messaging client application 104 based on a geolocationof the client device 102. In another example, the annotation system 206operatively supplies a media overlay to the messaging client application104 based on other information, such as social network information ofthe user of the client device 102. A media overlay may include audio andvisual content and visual effects. Examples of audio and visual contentinclude pictures, texts, logos, animations, and sound effects. Anexample of a visual effect includes color overlaying. The audio andvisual content or the visual effects can be applied to a content item(e.g., a photo) at the client device 102. For example, the media overlaymay include text that can be overlaid on top of a photograph taken bythe client device 102. In another example, the media overlay includes anidentification of a location overlay (e.g., Venice beach), a name of alive event, or a name of a merchant overlay (e.g., Beach Coffee House).In another example, the annotation system 206 uses the geolocation ofthe client device 102 to identify a media overlay that includes the nameof a merchant at the geolocation of the client device 102. The mediaoverlay may include other indicia associated with the merchant. Themedia overlays may be stored in the database 120 and accessed throughthe database server 118.

In one example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides auser-based publication platform that enables users to select ageolocation on a map, and upload content associated with the selectedgeolocation. The user may also specify circumstances under which aparticular media overlay should be offered to other users. Theannotation system 206 generates a media overlay that includes theuploaded content and associates the uploaded content with the selectedgeolocation.

In another example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides amerchant-based publication platform that enables merchants to select aparticular media overlay associated with a geolocation via a biddingprocess. For example, the annotation system 206 associates the mediaoverlay of a highest bidding merchant with a corresponding geolocationfor a predefined amount of time.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating data structures 300 which maybe stored in the database 120 of the messaging server system 108,according to certain example embodiments. While the content of thedatabase 120 is shown to comprise a number of tables, it will beappreciated that the data could be stored in other types of datastructures (e.g., as an object-oriented database).

The database 120 includes message data stored within a message table316. The entity table 302 stores entity data, including an entity graph304. Entities for which records are maintained within the entity table302 may include individuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects,places, events, etc. Regardless of type, any entity regarding which themessaging server system 108 stores data may be a recognized entity. Eachentity is provided with a unique identifier, as well as an entity typeidentifier (not shown).

The entity graph 304 furthermore stores information regardingrelationships and associations between entities. Such relationships maybe social, professional (e.g., work at a common corporation ororganization), interested-based or activity-based, merely for example.

The database 120 also stores annotation data, in the example form offilters, in an annotation table 312. Filters for which data is storedwithin the annotation table 312 are associated with and applied tovideos (for which data is stored in a video table 310) and/or images(for which data is stored in an image table 308). Filters, in oneexample, are overlays that are displayed as overlaid on an image orvideo during presentation to a recipient user. Filters may be of variestypes, including user-selected filters from a gallery of filterspresented to a sending user by the messaging client application 104 whenthe sending user is composing a message. Other types of filters includegeolocation filters (also known as geo-filters) which may be presentedto a sending user based on geographic location. For example, geolocationfilters specific to a neighborhood or special location may be presentedwithin a user interface by the messaging client application 104, basedon geolocation information determined by a GPS unit of the client device102. Another type of filter is a data filter, which may be selectivelypresented to a sending user by the messaging client application 104,based on other inputs or information gathered by the client device 102during the message creation process. Example of data filters includecurrent temperature at a specific location, a current speed at which asending user is traveling, battery life for a client device 102, or thecurrent time.

Other annotation data that may be stored within the image table 308 isso-called “Lens” data. A “Lens” may be a real-time special effect andsound that may be added to an image or a video.

As mentioned above, the video table 310 stores video data which, in oneembodiment, is associated with messages for which records are maintainedwithin the message table 316. Similarly, the image table 308 storesimage data associated with messages for which message data is stored inthe entity table 302. The entity table 302 may associate variousannotations from the annotation table 312 with various images and videosstored in the image table 308 and the video table 310.

A story table 306 stores data regarding collections of messages andassociated image, video, or audio data, which are compiled into acollection (e.g., a Story or a gallery). The creation of a particularcollection may be initiated by a particular user (e.g., each user forwhich a record is maintained in the entity table 302). A user may createa “personal Story” in the form of a collection of content that has beencreated and sent/broadcast by that user. To this end, the user interfaceof the messaging client application 104 may include an icon that isuser-selectable to enable a sending user to add specific content to hisor her personal Story.

A collection may also constitute a “live Story,” which is a collectionof content from multiple users that is created manually, automatically,or using a combination of manual and automatic techniques. For example,a “live Story” may constitute a curated stream of user-submitted contentfrom varies locations and events. Users whose client devices havelocation services enabled and are at a common location event at aparticular time may, for example, be presented with an option, via auser interface of the messaging client application 104, to contributecontent to a particular live Story. The live Story may be identified tothe user by the messaging client application 104, based on his or herlocation. The end result is a “live Story” told from a communityperspective.

A further type of content collection is known as a “location Story”,which enables a user whose client device 102 is located within aspecific geographic location (e.g., on a college or university campus)to contribute to a particular collection. In some embodiments, acontribution to a location Story may require a second degree ofauthentication to verify that the end user belongs to a specificorganization or other entity (e.g., is a student on the universitycampus).

A group profile table 314 stores data regarding group profiles, where agroup profile includes saved information that is common to a group of atleast two users (e.g., and where a group profile for two users may alsobe referred to as a friendship profile). Such information may includemessage content, such as but not limited to, images, videos, audiofiles, attachments, and messages (e.g., text-based messages), with anycorresponding annotation data, exchanged within one or more messagethread(s) with respect to a group of users. The saved informationincluded within a group profile may further include shared settings thatapply to the group, such that an update to a shared setting by one groupuser applies to all users within the group.

In some embodiments, messages, images, videos and/or attachments may beadded to the group profile in response to a specific request from one ofthe users in the group. For example, if the users in the group exchangemessage content (e.g., messages, images, videos and/or attachments), allof the message content, by default, may typically be automaticallydeleted and removed from storage after a specified time period (e.g.,one hour, one minute, one second, etc.). However, if prior to thespecified time period when the message content is automatically deleted,one of the users in the group selects certain message content (e.g., oneor more messages, images, videos and/or attachments) for permanentretention (e.g., via a “save” interface), the selected message contentis added to the group profile. The saved message content may be viewedby any one of the users in the group at any given time.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a message 400,according to some embodiments, generated by a messaging clientapplication 104 for communication to a further messaging clientapplication 104 or the messaging server application 114. The content ofa particular message 400 is used to populate the message table 316stored within the database 120, accessible by the messaging serverapplication 114. Similarly, the content of a message 400 is stored inmemory as “in-transit” or “in-flight” data of the client device 102 orthe application server 112. The message 400 is shown to include thefollowing components:

-   -   A message identifier 402: a unique identifier that identifies        the message 400.    -   A message text payload 404: text, to be generated by a user via        a user interface of the client device 102 and that is included        in the message 400.    -   A message image payload 406: image data, captured by a camera        component of a client device 102 or retrieved from a memory        component of a client device 102, and that is included in the        message 400.    -   A message video payload 408: video data, captured by a camera        component or retrieved from a memory component of the client        device 102 and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message audio payload 410: audio data, captured by a        microphone or retrieved from a memory component of the client        device 102, and that is included in the message 400.    -   Message annotations 412: annotation data (e.g., filters,        stickers or other enhancements) that represents annotations to        be applied to message image payload 406, message video payload        408, or message audio payload 410 of the message 400.    -   A message duration parameter 414: parameter value indicating, in        seconds, the amount of time for which content of the message        (e.g., the message image payload 406, message video payload 408,        message audio payload 410) is to be presented or made accessible        to a user via the messaging client application 104.    -   A message geolocation parameter 416: geolocation data (e.g.,        latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates) associated with the        content payload of the message. Multiple message geolocation        parameter 416 values may be included in the payload, each of        these parameter values being associated with respect to content        items included in the content (e.g., a specific image within the        message image payload 406, or a specific video in the message        video payload 408).    -   A message story identifier 418: identifier values identifying        one or more content collections (e.g., “Stories”) with which a        particular content item in the message image payload 406 of the        message 400 is associated. For example, multiple images within        the message image payload 406 may each be associated with        multiple content collections using identifier values.    -   A message tag 420: each message 400 may be tagged with multiple        tags, each of which is indicative of the subject matter of        content included in the message payload. For example, where a        particular image included in the message image payload 406        depicts an animal (e.g., a lion), a tag value may be included        within the message tag 420 that is indicative of the relevant        animal. Tag values may be generated manually, based on user        input, or may be automatically generated using, for example,        image recognition.    -   A message sender identifier 422: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address, or device        identifier) indicative of a user of the client device 102 on        which the message 400 was generated and from which the message        400 was sent.    -   A message receiver identifier 424: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address, or device        identifier) indicative of a user of the client device 102 to        which the message 400 is addressed.

The contents (e.g., values) of the various components of message 400 maybe pointers to locations in tables within which content data values arestored. For example, an image value in the message image payload 406 maybe a pointer to (or address of) a location within an image table 308.Similarly, values within the message video payload 408 may point to datastored within a video table 310, values stored within the messageannotations 412 may point to data stored in an annotation table 312,values stored within the message story identifier 418 may point to datastored in a story table 306, and values stored within the message senderidentifier 422 and the message receiver identifier 424 may point to userrecords stored within an entity table 302.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an access-limiting process500, in terms of which access to content (e.g., an ephemeral message502, and associated multimedia payload of data) or a content collection(e.g., an ephemeral message group 504) may be time-limited (e.g., madeephemeral).

An ephemeral message 502 is shown to be associated with a messageduration parameter 506, the value of which determines an amount of timethat the ephemeral message 502 will be displayed to a receiving user ofthe ephemeral message 502 by the messaging client application 104. Inone embodiment, an ephemeral message 502 is viewable by a receiving userfor up to a maximum of 10 seconds, depending on the amount of time thatthe sending user specifies using the message duration parameter 506.

The message duration parameter 506 and the message receiver identifier424 are shown to be inputs to a message timer 512, which is responsiblefor determining the amount of time that the ephemeral message 502 isshown to a particular receiving user identified by the message receiveridentifier 424. In particular, the ephemeral message 502 will only beshown to the relevant receiving user for a time period determined by thevalue of the message duration parameter 506. The message timer 512 isshown to provide output to a more generalized ephemeral timer system202, which is responsible for the overall timing of display of content(e.g., an ephemeral message 502) to a receiving user.

The ephemeral message 502 is shown in FIG. 5 to be included within anephemeral message group 504 (e.g., a collection of messages in apersonal Story, or an event Story). The ephemeral message group 504 hasan associated group duration parameter 508, a value of which determinesa time-duration for which the ephemeral message group 504 is presentedand accessible to users of the messaging system 100. The group durationparameter 508, for example, may be the duration of a music concert,where the ephemeral message group 504 is a collection of contentpertaining to that concert. Alternatively, a user (either the owninguser or a curator user) may specify the value for the group durationparameter 508 when performing the setup and creation of the ephemeralmessage group 504.

Additionally, each ephemeral message 502 within the ephemeral messagegroup 504 has an associated group participation parameter 510, a valueof which determines the duration of time for which the ephemeral message502 will be accessible within the context of the ephemeral message group504. Accordingly, a particular ephemeral message group 504 may “expire”and become inaccessible within the context of the ephemeral messagegroup 504, prior to the ephemeral message group 504 itself expiring interms of the group duration parameter 508. The group duration parameter508, group participation parameter 510, and message receiver identifier424 each provide input to a group timer 514 which operationallydetermines, firstly, whether a particular ephemeral message 502 of theephemeral message group 504 will be displayed to a particular receivinguser and, if so, for how long. Note that the ephemeral message group 504is also aware of the identity of the particular receiving user as aresult of the message receiver identifier 424.

Accordingly, the group timer 514 operationally controls the overalllifespan of an associated ephemeral message group 504, as well as anindividual ephemeral message 502 included in the ephemeral message group504. In one embodiment, each and every ephemeral message 502 within theephemeral message group 504 remains viewable and accessible for atime-period specified by the group duration parameter 508. In a furtherembodiment, a certain ephemeral message 502 may expire, within thecontext of ephemeral message group 504, based on a group participationparameter 510. Note that a message duration parameter 506 may stilldetermine the duration of time for which a particular ephemeral message502 is displayed to a receiving user, even within the context of theephemeral message group 504. Accordingly, the message duration parameter506 determines the duration of time that a particular ephemeral message502 is displayed to a receiving user, regardless of whether thereceiving user is viewing that ephemeral message 502 inside or outsidethe context of an ephemeral message group 504.

The ephemeral timer system 202 may furthermore operationally remove aparticular ephemeral message 502 from the ephemeral message group 504based on a determination that it has exceeded an associated groupparticipation parameter 510. For example, when a sending user hasestablished a group participation parameter 510 of 24 hours fromposting, the ephemeral timer system 202 will remove the relevantephemeral message 502 from the ephemeral message group 504 after thespecified 24 hours. The ephemeral timer system 202 also operates toremove an ephemeral message group 504 either when the groupparticipation parameter 510 for each and every ephemeral message 502within the ephemeral message group 504 has expired, or when theephemeral message group 504 itself has expired in terms of the groupduration parameter 508.

In certain use cases, a creator of a particular ephemeral message group504 may specify an indefinite group duration parameter 508. In thiscase, the expiration of the group participation parameter 510 for thelast remaining ephemeral message 502 within the ephemeral message group504 will determine when the ephemeral message group 504 itself expires.In this case, a new ephemeral message 502, added to the ephemeralmessage group 504, with a new group participation parameter 510,effectively extends the life of an ephemeral message group 504 to equalthe value of the group participation parameter 510.

Responsive to the ephemeral timer system 202 determining that anephemeral message group 504 has expired (e.g., is no longer accessible),the ephemeral timer system 202 communicates with the messaging system100 (and, for example, specifically the messaging client application104) to cause an indicium (e.g., an icon) associated with the relevantephemeral message group 504 to no longer be displayed within a userinterface of the messaging client application 104. Similarly, when theephemeral timer system 202 determines that the message durationparameter 506 for a particular ephemeral message 502 has expired, theephemeral timer system 202 causes the messaging client application 104to no longer display an indicium (e.g., an icon or textualidentification) associated with the ephemeral message 502.

FIG. 6 is an interaction diagram illustrating a process 600 forincluding a video feed in a message thread, in accordance with someexample embodiments. For explanatory purposes, the process 600 isprimarily described herein with reference to a first client device 602and a second client device 604 (e.g., each of which may correspond to arespective client device 102), and with reference to the messagingserver system 108. However, the process 600 is not limited to the firstclient device 602, the second client device 604 and the messaging serversystem 108. Moreover, one or more blocks (or operations) of the process600 may be performed by one or more other components of the first clientdevice 602, the second client device 604 or the messaging server system108, and/or by other suitable devices. Further for explanatory purposes,the blocks of the process 600 are described herein as occurring inserial, or linearly. However, multiple blocks of the process 600 mayoccur in parallel. In addition, the blocks of the process 600 need notbe performed in the order shown and/or one or more blocks of the process600 need not be performed and/or can be replaced by other operations.

Each of the first client device 602 and the second client device 604 mayhave instances of the messaging client application 104 installedthereon. The first client device 602 and the second client device 604may be associated with a respective first user and second user of themessaging server system 108. For example, the first user may beassociated with a first user account of the messaging server system 108,and the second user may be associated with a second user account of themessaging server system 108.

As noted above, the first and second users may be identified by themessaging server system 108 based on unique identifiers (e.g., amessaging system identifier, email address and/or a device identifier)associated with respective user accounts for the first and second users.In addition, the messaging server system 108 may implement and/or workin conjunction with a social network system 122 which is configured toidentify other users (e.g., friends) with which a particular user hasrelationships. The group profile table 314 may indicate a group profile(e.g., or friendship profile) corresponding to the first and secondusers, where the group profile stores content items (e.g., images,videos, attachments, and messages) and/or settings that are sharedbetween the first user and the second user. For example, the firstand/or second user may have selected to save the content items, so asnot to expire and automatically be removed by the ephemeral timer system202.

In the example of FIG. 6, operations 606-614 may correspond to a firstphase and operations 616-634 may correspond to a second phase. The firstphase relates to providing an option for the first and second users toactivate live video (e.g., as a background, such as a wallpaper) in amessage thread. Moreover, the second phase relates to activating livevideo in the message thread, such that the first user may see videocaptured by the second client device 604, and the second user may seevideo captured by the first client device 602. It may be understood thatthe second phase may occur shortly after the first phase, or after anextended period of time after the first phase. As such, FIG. 6 includesa dashed line separating the first phase and the second phase forillustrative purposes.

With respect to the first phase, the first client device 602 may bedisplaying the message thread (e.g., as an active and/or foregroundedscreen). This may indicate that the first user is viewing the messagethread (e.g., which may also be referred to as the first user being“present” with respect to the message thread). The first client device602 may be configured to continually (or on a periodic basis) send anindication, that the message thread is being displayed on the firstclient device 602, to the messaging server system 108 (operation 606).Similarly, the second client device 604 may be configured to send anindication, that the message thread is being displayed on the secondclient device 604, to the messaging server system 108 (operation 608).

In response to receiving these indications from the first client device602 and the second client device 604, the messaging server system 108may determine that the message thread is being concurrently displayed onthe first client device 602 and the second client device 604 (block610). Based on this determination, the messaging server system 108 mayprovide for a live video button to be displayed on a message threadinterface for each of the first client device 602 and the second clientdevice 604 (operation 612 and operation 614). The live video button maycorrespond to a user-selectable option for either of the first user orthe second user to activate live video (e.g., two-way live video as abackground/wallpaper for the message thread).

In some embodiments, the option to present the live video button may bea user-selectable setting that is shared by the first and second users.For example, the message thread provided by the messaging clientapplication 104 on the first client device 602 and/or the second clientdevice 604 may include an interface which allows user(s) toenable/disable live video in a message thread. In another example, agroup profile (e.g., or friendship profile) interface may provide aninterface to enable/disable live video in the message thread.

Enabling live video may correspond with presenting the live video buttonwhen appropriate (e.g., during concurrent display of the messagethread), and disabling live video may correspond with refraining frompresenting the live video button. The option to present the live videobutton may correspond to a setting that is shared between the first andsecond users (e.g., in association with their group/friendship profile).In the example of FIG. 6, live video is enabled and as such, the livevideo button is displayed based on concurrent display of the messagethread on the first client device 602 and the second client device 604.

With respect to operations 616-630 corresponding to the above-notedsecond phase, a user may subsequently provide input (e.g., selection ofthe live video button) for activating live video. In the example of FIG.6, the first user at the first client device 602 provides such input(block 616), but it is understood that operations 616-630 mayalternatively or in addition be performed by the second user at thesecond client device 604.

In response to receiving the user input, the first client device 602sends an indication to activate live video (e.g., two-way live video) tothe messaging server system 108 (operation 618). The messaging serversystem 108 then sends an indication to activate live video to the secondclient device 604 (operation 620). At this stage, both of the firstclient device 602 and the second client device 604 may activaterespective cameras (e.g., front-facing cameras to capture the user'sfaces, and/or rear-facing cameras to capture other objects/scenery) inorder to capture live video (e.g., block 622 and block 624).

The first client device 602 sends the live video that it captured to themessaging server system 108 (operation 626), and the second clientdevice 604 sends the live video that it captured to the messaging serversystem 108 (operation 628). Moreover, the messaging server system 108provides for passing the live video between devices (e.g., correspondingto two-way live video), by sending the live video captured at the secondclient device 604 to the first client device 602 (operation 630), andsending the live video captured at the first client device 602 to thesecond client device 604 (operation 632).

The messaging client application 104 running on the first client device602 displays the live video captured at the second client device 604(block 634). Moreover, the messaging client application 104 running onthe second client device 604 displays the live video captured at thefirst client device 602 (block 636). For example, the live video may bedisplayed as a background within the message thread (e.g., as discussedfurther below with respect to FIG. 8).

In some embodiments, the messaging server system 108 may be configuredto cease transmission of the live video feed between the first clientdevice 602 and the second client device 604. For example, the first andsecond users may stop exchanging messages on the message thread for apredetermined amount of time (e.g., 5 minutes), thereby suggesting thatthe first and second users are no longer messaging each other. Inanother example, the first and/or second users may have left the messagethread by switching to another application. The messaging server system108 may be configured to detect the occurrence of the predeterminedamount of time having passed without exchanging messages and/or a userleaving the message thread. In response, the messaging server system 108my cease transmission of the live video with respect to the messagethread, such that resuming transmission of the live video would requirethe reactivation by the first or second user (e.g., via the live videobutton 704).

Although FIG. 6 is described herein with respect to a message threadwith a group including the first and second user, the subject system isnot limited to two users per group. Thus, the blocks and operations forthe process 600 may be applied to a group of users larger than two. Anyof the users in the group may specify to activate live video (e.g., ifenabled as a shared setting as noted above), such that each user in thegroup would view the live video (e.g., in a tiled manner, sequentialmanner, or the like) from other devices. By providing for the exchangeof live video between the first client device 602 and the second clientdevice 604 (and/or additional devices) as described herein, it ispossible for the messaging server system 108 to improve user engagementand/or interest with respect to messaging between users.

FIG. 7 illustrates a message thread interface 700 with a user-selectableoption to initiate a video feed, in accordance with some exampleembodiments. The message thread interface 700 may present messagecontent (e.g., messages, image, video and/or audio) exchanged betweenthe first user and the second user in association with the messagingsystem 100. The exchanged content may correspond to a message thread702.

The message thread interface 700 may include a presence indicator 706and/or a live video button 704. As noted above, the messaging serversystem 108 may be configured to determine when a message thread betweentwo or more devices (e.g., the first client device 602 and the secondclient device 604) is being concurrently displayed on those devices. Forexample, such determination may correspond with the message threadinterface 700 being the active and/or foregrounded screen on each of thefirst client device 602 and the second client device 604.

In response to detecting the concurrent display, the message threadinterface 700 on the first client device 602 may display the presenceindicator 706, indicating the presence of the second user at the secondclient device 604. The presence indicator 706 may correspond to an icon,avatar, image or other representation of the second user. In a similarmanner, the message thread interface 700 on the second client device 604may display a presence indicator 706 indicating the presence of thefirst user at the first client device 602 (e.g., with a respectiveicon/representation of the first user).

In addition to the presence indicator 706, the messaging message threadinterface 700 on each of the first client device 602 and the secondclient device 604 may display the live video button 704. The live videobutton 704 may be animated (e.g., a pulsing animation). As noted above,selection of the live video button 704 by either the first user or thesecond user may provide for activating two-way live video on the firstclient device 602 and the second client device 604.

FIG. 8 illustrates the message thread interface 700 in which a livevideo feed 802 has been activated, in accordance with some exampleembodiments. In the example of FIG. 8, the live video feed 802 ispresented as a background video (e.g., wallpaper) within the messagethread interface 700 on the first client device 602, and corresponds tovideo captured by a front-facing camera of the second client device 604.

As further shown in FIG. 8, the live video button 704 may change inappearance during live video, for example, from a button (e.g., as shownin FIG. 7) to a video/image being captured by the first client device602. During live video, user selection of the live video button 704 maycause the two-way live video between the devices to cease (e.g., bysending appropriate indication(s) to the messaging server system 108).

In addition, during live video, the message thread interface 700 mayinclude a user-selectable element (not shown) for activating anaudio-video call between the first and second users. Thus, thebackgrounded, two-way live video mode may correspond to an entry pointfor initiating an audio-video call. Selection of such user-selectableelement may cause the messaging server system 108 to redirect from themessage thread interface 700 to an appropriate interface for anaudio-video call (e.g., which may be provided by the messaging system100).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process 900 for including a videofeed in a message thread, in accordance with some example embodiments.For explanatory purposes, the process 900 is primarily described hereinwith reference to the messaging server system 108, the first clientdevice 602 and the second client device 604 of FIG. 1. However, one ormore blocks (or operations) of the process 900 may be performed by oneor more other components of the messaging server system 108, the firstclient device 602, the second client device 604, and/or by othersuitable devices. Further for explanatory purposes, the blocks of theprocess 900 are described herein as occurring in serial, or linearly.However, multiple blocks of the process 900 may occur in parallel. Inaddition, the blocks of the process 900 need not be performed in theorder shown and/or one or more blocks of the process 900 need not beperformed and/or can be replaced by other operations.

The messaging server system 108 determines that a message thread isbeing concurrently displayed on a first client device 602 associatedwith a first user and on a second client device 604 associated with asecond user, the first user and the second user corresponding tocontacts within a messaging application (block 902). The determining maybe based on receiving, from the first client device 602, a firstindication that the message thread is being displayed on the firstclient device 602, and receiving, from the second client device 604, asecond indication that the message thread is being concurrentlydisplayed on the second client device 604.

In response the determining, the messaging server system 108 transmitsimage data captured on the first client device 602 to the second clientdevice 604, for display within the message thread on the second clientdevice 604 (block 904). The messaging server system 108 may furthertransmit image data captured on the second client device 604 to thefirst client device 602, for display within the message thread on thefirst client device 602.

The messaging server system 108 may provide, prior to the transmitting,a user interface within the message thread on the first client device602, the user interface for activating a camera to capture the imagedata. The image data may correspond to a live video feed captured by afront-facing camera on the first client device 602. The image data maybe displayed as a background of the message thread on the second clientdevice 604.

The messaging server system 108 may provide a user interface to initiatean audio-video call between the first client device 602 and the secondclient device 604, based on transmitting the image data.

The messaging server system 108 may determine, in response to thetransmitting, that a predefined amount of time has passed since amessage last exchanged on the message thread. In response, the messagingserver system 108 may cease transmission of the image data to the secondclient device 604.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram 1000 illustrating a software architecture1004, which can be installed on any one or more of the devices describedherein. The software architecture 1004 is supported by hardware such asa machine 1002 that includes processors 1020, memory 1026, and I/Ocomponents 1038. In this example, the software architecture 1004 can beconceptualized as a stack of layers, where each layer provides aparticular functionality. The software architecture 1004 includes layerssuch as an operating system 1012, libraries 1010, frameworks 1008, andapplications 1006. Operationally, the applications 1006 invoke API calls1050 through the software stack and receive messages 1052 in response tothe API calls 1050.

The operating system 1012 manages hardware resources and provides commonservices. The operating system 1012 includes, for example, a kernel1014, services 1016, and drivers 1022. The kernel 1014 acts as anabstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 1014 provides memory management, processormanagement (e.g., scheduling), component management, networking, andsecurity settings, among other functionality. The services 1016 canprovide other common services for the other software layers. The drivers1022 are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlyinghardware. For instance, the drivers 1022 can include display drivers,camera drivers, BLUETOOTH® or BLUETOOTH® Low Energy drivers, flashmemory drivers, serial communication drivers (e.g., Universal Serial Bus(USB) drivers), WI-FI® drivers, audio drivers, power management drivers,and so forth.

The libraries 1010 provide a low-level common infrastructure used by theapplications 1006. The libraries 1010 can include system libraries 1018(e.g., C standard library) that provide functions such as memoryallocation functions, string manipulation functions, mathematicfunctions, and the like. In addition, the libraries 1010 can include APIlibraries 1024 such as media libraries (e.g., libraries to supportpresentation and manipulation of various media formats such as MovingPicture Experts Group-4 (MPEG4), Advanced Video Coding (H.264 or AVC),Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3 (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC),Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) audio codec, Joint Photographic Experts Group(JPEG or JPG), or Portable Network Graphics (PNG)), graphics libraries(e.g., an OpenGL framework used to render in two dimensions (2D) andthree dimensions (3D) in a graphic content on a display), databaselibraries (e.g., SQLite to provide various relational databasefunctions), web libraries (e.g., WebKit to provide web browsingfunctionality), and the like. The libraries 1010 can also include a widevariety of other libraries 1028 to provide many other APIs to theapplications 1006.

The frameworks 1008 provide a high-level common infrastructure that isused by the applications 1006. For example, the frameworks 1008 providevarious graphical user interface (GUI) functions, high-level resourcemanagement, and high-level location services. The frameworks 1008 canprovide a broad spectrum of other APIs that can be used by theapplications 1006, some of which may be specific to a particularoperating system or platform.

In an example embodiment, the applications 1006 may include a homeapplication 1036, a contacts application 1030, a browser application1032, a book reader application 1034, a location application 1042, amedia application 1044, a messaging application 1046 (e.g.,corresponding to the messaging client application 104), a gameapplication 1048, and a broad assortment of other applications such asthird-party applications 1040. The applications 1006 are programs thatexecute functions defined in the programs. Various programming languagescan be employed to create one or more of the applications 1006,structured in a variety of manners, such as object-oriented programminglanguages (e.g., Objective-C, Java, or C++) or procedural programminglanguages (e.g., C or assembly language). In a specific example, thethird-party applications 1040 (e.g., applications developed using theANDROID™ or IOS™ software development kit (SDK) by an entity other thanthe vendor of the particular platform) may be mobile software running ona mobile operating system such as IOS™, ANDROID™ WINDOWS® Phone, oranother mobile operating system. In this example, the third-partyapplications 1040 can invoke the API calls 1050 provided by theoperating system 1012 to facilitate functionality described herein.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine 1100 within whichinstructions 1108 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an applet,an app, or other executable code) for causing the machine 1100 toperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein may beexecuted. For example, the instructions 1108 may cause the machine 1100to execute any one or more of the methods described herein. Theinstructions 1108 transform the general, non-programmed machine 1100into a particular machine 1100 programmed to carry out the described andillustrated functions in the manner described. The machine 1100 mayoperate as a standalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) toother machines. In a networked deployment, the machine 1100 may operatein the capacity of a server machine or a client machine in aserver-client network environment, or as a peer machine in apeer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The machine 1100 maycomprise, but not be limited to, a server computer, a client computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook,a set-top box (STB), a PDA, an entertainment media system, a cellulartelephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device (e.g., asmart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance), other smartdevices, a web appliance, a network router, a network switch, a networkbridge, or any machine capable of executing the instructions 1108,sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to be taken by themachine 1100. Further, while only a single machine 1100 is illustrated,the term “machine” shall also be taken to include a collection ofmachines that individually or jointly execute the instructions 1108 toperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The machine 1100 may include processors 1102, memory 1104, and I/Ocomponents 1144, which may be configured to communicate with each othervia a bus 1142. In an example embodiment, the processors 1102 (e.g., aCentral Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction Set Computing(RISC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor,a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), anASIC, a Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), another processor, orany suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, a processor1106 and a processor 1110 that execute the instructions 1108. The term“processor” is intended to include multi-core processors that maycomprise two or more independent processors (sometimes referred to as“cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously. Although FIG.11 shows multiple processors 1102, the machine 1100 may include a singleprocessor with a single core, a single processor with multiple cores(e.g., a multi-core processor), multiple processors with a single core,multiple processors with multiples cores, or any combination thereof.

The memory 1104 includes a main memory 1112, a static memory 1114, and astorage unit 1116, both accessible to the processors 1102 via the bus1142. The main memory 1104, the static memory 1114, and storage unit1116 store the instructions 1108 embodying any one or more of themethodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 1108 mayalso reside, completely or partially, within the main memory 1112,within the static memory 1114, within machine-readable medium 1118within the storage unit 1116, within at least one of the processors 1102(e.g., within the processor's cache memory), or any suitable combinationthereof, during execution thereof by the machine 1100.

The I/O components 1144 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/Ocomponents 1144 that are included in a particular machine will depend onthe type of machine. For example, portable machines such as mobilephones may include a touch input device or other such input mechanisms,while a headless server machine will likely not include such a touchinput device. It will be appreciated that the I/O components 1144 mayinclude many other components that are not shown in FIG. 11. In variousexample embodiments, the I/O components 1144 may include outputcomponents 1128 and input components 1130. The output components 1128may include visual components (e.g., a display such as a plasma displaypanel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), acousticcomponents (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., a vibratory motor,resistance mechanisms), other signal generators, and so forth. The inputcomponents 1130 may include alphanumeric input components (e.g., akeyboard, a touch screen configured to receive alphanumeric input, aphoto-optical keyboard, or other alphanumeric input components),point-based input components (e.g., a mouse, a touchpad, a trackball, ajoystick, a motion sensor, or another pointing instrument), tactileinput components (e.g., a physical button, a touch screen that provideslocation and/or force of touches or touch gestures, or other tactileinput components), audio input components (e.g., a microphone), and thelike.

In further example embodiments, the I/O components 1144 may includebiometric components 1132, motion components 1134, environmentalcomponents 1136, or position components 1138, among a wide array ofother components. For example, the biometric components 1132 includecomponents to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facialexpressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measurebiosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voiceidentification, retinal identification, facial identification,fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram-basedidentification), and the like. The motion components 1134 includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The environmental components 1136 include, for example, illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more thermometers that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gasdetection sensors to detection concentrations of hazardous gases forsafety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other componentsthat may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding toa surrounding physical environment. The position components 1138 includelocation sensor components (e.g., a GPS receiver component), altitudesensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detect airpressure from which altitude may be derived), orientation sensorcomponents (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 1144 further include communication components 1140operable to couple the machine 1100 to a network 1120 or devices 1122via a coupling 1126 and a coupling 1124, respectively. For example, thecommunication components 1140 may include a network interface componentor another suitable device to interface with the network 1120. Infurther examples, the communication components 1140 may include wiredcommunication components, wireless communication components, cellularcommunication components, Near Field Communication (NFC) components,Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), WiFi® components,and other communication components to provide communication via othermodalities. The devices 1122 may be another machine or any of a widevariety of peripheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via aUSB).

Moreover, the communication components 1140 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 1140 may include Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components1140, such as location via Internet Protocol (IP) geolocation, locationvia Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting an NFC beaconsignal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

The various memories (e.g., memory 1104, main memory 1112, static memory1114, and/or memory of the processors 1102) and/or storage unit 1116 maystore one or more sets of instructions and data structures (e.g.,software) embodying or used by any one or more of the methodologies orfunctions described herein. These instructions (e.g., the instructions1108), when executed by processors 1102, cause various operations toimplement the disclosed embodiments.

The instructions 1108 may be transmitted or received over the network1120, using a transmission medium, via a network interface device (e.g.,a network interface component included in the communication components1140) and using any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols(e.g., hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)). Similarly, the instructions1108 may be transmitted or received using a transmission medium via thecoupling 1124 (e.g., a peer-to-peer coupling) to the devices 1122.

A “carrier signal” refers to any intangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by themachine, and includes digital or analog communications signals or otherintangible media to facilitate communication of such instructions.Instructions may be transmitted or received over a network using atransmission medium via a network interface device.

A “client device” refers to any machine that interfaces to acommunications network to obtain resources from one or more serversystems or other client devices. A client device may be, but is notlimited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digitalassistants (PDAs), smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks, netbooks, laptops,multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, game consoles, set-top boxes, or any other communicationdevice that a user may use to access a network.

A “communication network” refers to one or more portions of a networkthat may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtualprivate network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN(WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitanarea network (MAN), the Internet, a portion of the Internet, a portionof the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a plain old telephoneservice (POTS) network, a cellular telephone network, a wirelessnetwork, a Wi-Fi® network, another type of network, or a combination oftwo or more such networks. For example, a network or a portion of anetwork may include a wireless or cellular network and the coupling maybe a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) connection, a Global Systemfor Mobile communications (GSM) connection, or other types of cellularor wireless coupling. In this example, the coupling may implement any ofa variety of types of data transfer technology, such as Single CarrierRadio Transmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO)technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology, EnhancedData rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology, third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourth generation wireless (4G)networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High SpeedPacket Access (HSPA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, others defined by variousstandard-setting organizations, other long-range protocols, or otherdata transfer technology.

A “component” refers to a device, physical entity, or logic havingboundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branch points, APIs,or other technologies that provide for the partitioning ormodularization of particular processing or control functions. Componentsmay be combined via their interfaces with other components to carry outa machine process. A component may be a packaged functional hardwareunit designed for use with other components and a part of a program thatusually performs a particular function of related functions. Componentsmay constitute either software components (e.g., code embodied on amachine-readable medium) or hardware components. A “hardware component”is a tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may beconfigured or arranged in a certain physical manner. In various exampleembodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computersystem, a client computer system, or a server computer system) or one ormore hardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or agroup of processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an applicationor application portion) as a hardware component that operates to performcertain operations as described herein. A hardware component may also beimplemented mechanically, electronically, or any suitable combinationthereof. For example, a hardware component may include dedicatedcircuitry or logic that is permanently configured to perform certainoperations. A hardware component may be a special-purpose processor,such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC). A hardware component may alsoinclude programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configuredby software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwarecomponent may include software executed by a general-purpose processoror other programmable processor. Once configured by such software,hardware components become specific machines (or specific components ofa machine) uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and areno longer general-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that thedecision to implement a hardware component mechanically, in dedicatedand permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configuredcircuitry (e.g., configured by software), may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations. Accordingly, the phrase “hardware component”(or“hardware-implemented component”) should be understood to encompass atangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed,permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured(e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certainoperations described herein. Considering embodiments in which hardwarecomponents are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of thehardware components need not be configured or instantiated at any oneinstance in time. For example, where a hardware component comprises ageneral-purpose processor configured by software to become aspecial-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware components) at different times. Softwareaccordingly configures a particular processor or processors, forexample, to constitute a particular hardware component at one instanceof time and to constitute a different hardware component at a differentinstance of time. Hardware components can provide information to, andreceive information from, other hardware components. Accordingly, thedescribed hardware components may be regarded as being communicativelycoupled. Where multiple hardware components exist contemporaneously,communications may be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., overappropriate circuits and buses) between or among two or more of thehardware components. In embodiments in which multiple hardwarecomponents are configured or instantiated at different times,communications between such hardware components may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware components have access. Forexample, one hardware component may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware component may then, at alater time, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware components may also initiate communications with inputor output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation). The various operations of example methods described hereinmay be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implementedcomponents that operate to perform one or more operations or functionsdescribed herein. As used herein, “processor-implemented component”refers to a hardware component implemented using one or more processors.Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented components. Moreover, the one or more processorsmay also operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a“cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS).For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a groupof computers (as examples of machines including processors), with theseoperations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and viaone or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an API). The performance ofcertain of the operations may be distributed among the processors, notonly residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processors orprocessor-implemented components may be located in a single geographiclocation (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment, or aserver farm). In other example embodiments, the processors orprocessor-implemented components may be distributed across a number ofgeographic locations.

A “computer-readable medium” refers to both machine-storage media andtransmission media. Thus, the terms include both storage devices/mediaand carrier waves/modulated data signals. The terms “machine-readablemedium,” “computer-readable medium” and “device-readable medium” meanthe same thing and may be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

An “ephemeral message” refers to a message that is accessible for atime-limited duration. An ephemeral message may be a text, an image, avideo and the like. The access time for the ephemeral message may be setby the message sender. Alternatively, the access time may be a defaultsetting or a setting specified by the recipient. Regardless of thesetting technique, the message is transitory.

A “machine-storage medium” refers to a single or multiple storagedevices and/or media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database,and/or associated caches and servers) that store executableinstructions, routines and/or data. The term shall accordingly be takento include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, and optical andmagnetic media, including memory internal or external to processors.Specific examples of machine-storage media, computer-storage mediaand/or device-storage media include non-volatile memory, including byway of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), FPGA, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such asinternal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; andCD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks The terms “machine-storage medium,”“device-storage medium,” “computer-storage medium” mean the same thingand may be used interchangeably in this disclosure. The terms“machine-storage media,” “computer-storage media,” and “device-storagemedia” specifically exclude carrier waves, modulated data signals, andother such media, at least some of which are covered under the term“signal medium.”

A “processor” refers to any circuit or virtual circuit (a physicalcircuit emulated by logic executing on an actual processor) thatmanipulates data values according to control signals (e.g., “commands”,“op codes”, “machine code”, etc.) and which produces correspondingoutput signals that are applied to operate a machine. A processor may,for example, be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced InstructionSet Computing (RISC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing(CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), aRadio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) or any combination thereof. Aprocessor may further be a multi-core processor having two or moreindependent processors (sometimes referred to as “cores”) that mayexecute instructions contemporaneously.

A “signal medium” refers to any intangible medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding, or carrying the instructions for execution by amachine and includes digital or analog communications signals or otherintangible media to facilitate communication of software or data. Theterm “signal medium” shall be taken to include any form of a modulateddata signal, carrier wave, and so forth. The term “modulated datasignal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics setor changed in such a matter as to encode information in the signal. Theterms “transmission medium” and “signal medium” mean the same thing andmay be used interchangeably in this disclosure.

Changes and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the present disclosure. These andother changes or modifications are intended to be included within thescope of the present disclosure, as expressed in the following claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method, comprising: determining that first and secondusers are currently viewing a message thread between the first user andthe second user on respective first and second devices; and in responseto determining that the first and second users are currently viewing themessage thread, providing an option for display on the respective firstand second devices to capture a live video feed for display as abackground with respect to the message thread.
 3. The method of claim 2,further comprising: receiving, from the first device, a first indicationthat the message thread is being displayed on the first device at acurrent time, the first user and the second user corresponding tocontacts within a messaging application; and receiving, from the seconddevice, a second indication that the message thread is being displayedon the second device at the current time.
 4. The method of claim 2,further comprising: providing a first user-selectable interface elementon the first device, to capture a first live video feed on the firstdevice for sending to the second device, and providing a seconduser-selectable interface element on the second device, to capture asecond live video feed on the second device for sending to the firstdevice.
 5. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving a firstlive video feed from the first device; receiving a second live videofeed from the second device; transmitting the first live video feed tothe second device, for display as the background with respect themessage thread on the second device; and transmitting the second livevideo feed to the first device, for display as the background withrespect to the message thread on the first device.
 6. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising: providing, during transmission of the livevideo feed, an option to initiate an audio-video call between the firstdevice and the second device.
 7. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: determining, following transmission of the live video, thata predefined amount of time has passed since a message was lastexchanged on the message thread; and ceasing, in response to thedetermining, transmission of the live video feed.
 8. The method of claim2, wherein the live video is captured by a front-facing camera of thefirst device.
 9. The method of claim 2, wherein a first indication isbased on the message thread being foregrounded on the first device at acurrent time, and wherein a second indication is based on the messagethread being foregrounded on the second device at the current time. 10.A system comprising: a processor configured to perform operationscomprising: determining that first and second users are currentlyviewing a message thread between the first user and the second user onrespective first and second devices; and in response to determining thatthe first and second users are currently viewing the message thread,providing an option for display on the respective first and seconddevices to capture a live video feed for display as a background withrespect to the message thread.
 11. The system of claim 10, theoperations further comprising: receiving, from the first device, a firstindication that the message thread is being displayed on the firstdevice at a current time, the first user and the second usercorresponding to contacts within a messaging application; and receiving,from the second device, a second indication that the message thread isbeing displayed on the second device at the current time.
 12. The systemof claim 10, the operations further comprising: providing a firstuser-selectable interface element on the first device, to capture afirst live video feed on the first device for sending to the seconddevice; and providing a second user-selectable interface element on thesecond device, to capture a second live video feed on the second devicefor sending to the first device.
 13. The system of claim 10, theoperations further comprising: receiving a first live video feed fromthe first device; receiving a second live video feed from the seconddevice; transmitting the first live video feed to the second device, fordisplay as the background with respect the message thread on the seconddevice; and transmitting the second live video feed to the first device,for display as the background with respect to the message thread on thefirst device.
 14. The system of claim 10, the operations furthercomprising: providing, during transmission of the live video feed, anoption to initiate an audio-video call between the first device and thesecond device.
 15. The system of claim 10, the operations furthercomprising: determining, following transmission of the live video, thata predefined amount of time has passed since a message was lastexchanged on the message thread; and ceasing, in response to thedetermining, transmission of the live video feed.
 16. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the live video is captured by a front-facing camera ofthe first device.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein a first indicationis based on the message thread being foregrounded on the first device ata current time, and wherein a second indication is based on the messagethread being foregrounded on the second device at the current time. 18.A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions, whichwhen executed by a computing device, cause the computing device toperform operations comprising: determining that first and second usersare currently viewing a message thread between the first user and thesecond user on respective first and second devices; and in response todetermining that the first and second users are currently viewing themessage thread, providing an option for display on the respective firstand second devices to capture a live video feed for display as abackground with respect to the message thread.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 18, the operations further comprising:receiving, from the first device, a first indication that the messagethread is being displayed on the first device at a current time, thefirst user and the second user corresponding to contacts within amessaging application; and receiving, from the second device, a secondindication that the message thread is being displayed on the seconddevice at the current time.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 18, the operations further comprising: providing a firstuser-selectable interface element on the first device, to capture afirst live video feed on the first device for sending to the seconddevice, and providing a second user-selectable interface element on thesecond device, to capture a second live video feed on the second devicefor sending to the first device.
 21. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 18, the operations further comprising:receiving a first live video feed from the first device; receiving asecond live video feed from the second device; transmitting the firstlive video feed to the second device, for display as the background withrespect the message thread on the second device; and transmitting thesecond live video feed to the first device, for display as thebackground with respect to the message thread on the first device.